The present disclosure relates generally to well drilling operations and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for redundant wired pipe-in-pipe telemetry.
Existing well drilling operations require information on formation characteristics to aid in drilling decisions. Numerous measurement techniques are used, including logging while drilling (LWD), measuring while drilling (MWD), and wireline tests. MWD operations, for example, utilize sensors downhole, which may measure certain formation characteristics. These measurements may be transmitted to the surface as telemetry data, which may be used to control drilling operations. Telemetry data is typically transmitted using mud pulses or custom drill pipe with an integrated wired connection. The custom drill pipe can be expensive to manufacture, however, given the pressure requirements for the drill string. Likewise, the mud pulses typically have limited data rates, capping the amount of real-time data that can be sent. Further, drill strings may be thousands of feet long and present a hostile environment for conductive paths, which may cause faults that impair or prevent signal transmission in those conductive paths.
While embodiments of this disclosure have been depicted and described and are defined by reference to exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, such references do not imply a limitation on the disclosure, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The subject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modification, alteration, and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those skilled in the pertinent art and having the benefit of this disclosure. The depicted and described embodiments of this disclosure are examples only, and not exhaustive of the scope of the disclosure.